Stagnation and Enterprise
by Waffleface
Summary: Whether permanently or temporarily, none can say, but two parallel worlds are now cut off from each other. What occurs in the Twilight Realm now is beyond the knowledge of the dwellers of the World of Light, but the events of their home are certainly something they're aware of. Just what happened after that fateful breaking of glass in the desert?
1. A Proper Entrance

_This will probably be one of my larger stories. Haven't done one of those in a while.  
_

_Writing a purely original Post-TP fic is hard, but I won't plagiarize. I might as well credit my inspirations now; _The Hero of Wolves_ by The Wolfess; _Her Majesty's Wolf _by Airplane; _Endgame_ by Ryua Malfoy_, _and many more I can't name or find again. Thank you all for inspiring me to write this!_

_T right now for some violence, swearing, and suggestive themes. Spoilers, obviously.  
_

_I don't own Legend of Zelda or anything related to it._

* * *

To the common bystander of Castle Town, it appeared as though a tall, possibly female figure clad in a black gown featureless gown with a hood that covered her face was striding through the rain-swept streets of East Castle Town, accompanied by slightly shorter blond man in a green mail tunic. No one paid much attention to them-the man was well-armed, if slightly worse for wear, and the cowled figure carried themselves with grace and speed that belied their muddied feet.

That, and the fact that Hyrule Castle Tower had recently seen fit to explode. Fortunately, it had been unoccupied since the mysterious magical barrier had sealed it off, but the politicians and bureaucrats were throwing tantrums and only now moving back in. So no one had time to worry about two capable-looking strangers.

In their minds, they were just two more people in the night, off to whatever business claimed their interest, be they illicit or law-abiding.

Imagine their surprise if they had known that beneath the somber cloak and hood rested the tired but eternally beautiful Princess Zelda, her brilliant blue eyes fraught with worry for her people, her smooth shoulders bent in focus as she plodded towards her castle. Likewise, it was only the light, or lack thereof, that prevented the bystanders-such as the preacher Charlo-from recognizing Link of Ordon. The injuries to his body were many-some of his chest bones longed to float freely from their cracked positions, while his more visible torn arm and facial injuries helped disguise him. Despite his marred face, his bold turquoise gaze remained focused on their destination: Hyrule Castle.

Just two more people in the night.

* * *

It was Zelda's idea to go in disguise.

As she had predicted, the people and Castle Town guard were too tired after the disarray of the invasion and the damage done to their capital building to notice them slip into the city. The foundation had remained solid, but the entirety of the tower was strewn across the Courtyard.

"The guards will let us into the Castle proper once I present myself, and I will vouch for you. I must assess the damage done to my home and my kingdom, and my arrival will hold little weight if a bystander spoils the surprise."

Link nodded, tight-lipped as they stepped into the quiet central market, the rain continuing to pour down onto them, soaking them through. The few souls awake at this hour were either drunk, too cold, or too frightened to pay attention to them. As they moved north, Link braced himself for the outburst of "Halt! Who goes there?!"

And he was not disappointed.

"Halt! Who goes there?!"

Right on cue.

Two armored guards stood on either side of the door leading into the entrance to the Castle bridge, spears crossed in front of the archway, blocking their passageway. Link would've been impressed if he didn't know that these men were the exception, rather than the rule.

Zelda said nothing, but merely continued forward, Link by her side, the two of them nearly unidentifiable in the darkness beyond the light of the guard's torches. Link was slightly mystified as to her plan, but followed nonetheless.

"State your name, rank, and business!"

The Princess moved as if she had heard nothing, flowing forward, shedding her ache and worry in the manner she had perfected for instances such as this. The Hero of Twilight fell back and waited-he trusted Zelda, and knew that she had a plan.

* * *

Abraham Galliver tensed, moving his spear so he could grip it in both hands. What was this person thinking, moving up here with their beat-up highwayman of a friend and not answering his summons? Didn't they know, whoever they were, that this was Hyrule Castle? The nobles had just moved back in after the rather random destruction of the upper throne room, and they thought they could just ignore him, the first line of defense alongside Harry to his left?

He could tell by the grace and slight curves of the approaching shape that she was just that-a female. The guard tightened his grip on his spear and opened his mouth to warn her off when she stepped into the light of the torches, bent forward, and swiped her hood off with the same movement. His and Harry's breath caught in their throats.

Before them stood none other than their ruler, Princess Zelda, the rain seeming to patter everywhere except on her somehow flawless features. The two guards immediately fell into a kneel, the warning in Abraham's mouth turning into a declaration.

"Y...your Majesty! You are well! You may enter, of course!"

The Royal Family's scion nodded once and stepped forward. The man behind her moved his hand away from his sword hilt and trod forward, moving with the Princess past the two guards.

Abraham rose after they had left and turned to look at Harry. Their expressions mirrored each others-relief, worry, and confusion.

What was going on?

* * *

Link grunted as he pushed the giant wooden door forward, planting his feet to hold it for Zelda. Her mask of serenity faded for the briefest of seconds as she tilted her royal head in his direction.

"Thank you, Hero."

Nodding assent, the Ordonian stepped through after his monarch and allowed the door to shut behind him with a creak that didn't seem to fit its incredible size.

He recognized the rainy, melancholy courtyard in front of him, though it was now empty instead of bustling with monsters. The Hylian Crest lay atop a giant spire in the center of all the hedges and two stone paths that led to the east and west wings of the Courtyard. Was it Link's imagination, or was it slightly brighter now than when the Castle was under Ganondorf's control?

Link had no time to ponder. Zelda was already moving ahead of him, towards the small wooden doors that served as the entrance to the interior of the Castle. Two more guards stood on the sides of this as well, but Link knew they would be no problem.

This pair didn't even challenge the two of them, immediately stuttering, bowing, and mumbling deferential greetings; behavior that was more in line with Link's experience with Hylian soldiers. Before he knew it, the Hero was opening the door for the Princess once again-this time, with his uninjured hand instead of his entire body weight.

He caught the confused and frightened glances that passed between the two soldiers, but he was too tired to care. He merely sought to ensure the princess's safety before resting-hopefully in comfort here and not at the roughly serviced rooms of Telma's bar. The rowdy older woman was a fantastic barmaid and manager: her skills didn't exactly extend to housekeeping or maintaining a rentable room.

Link recognized the extravagant entrance hall of the Castle. An abundance of gold-and-silver chandeliers dotted the ceiling while bright stained glass lined the entire length of the hallway, both polar opposites to wide red carpet leading from the entrance to the Queen's chair at the end of the hall, in the lower throne room. The rest of the castle was accessed either through the other entrances or one of the many multicolored doors that split off of the entrance hallway on either side.

Like the courtyard, the inside was still dreary and mostly empty of personnel. The few that ran to and fro in their errands for the recently reestablished nobility ignored the new arrivals, recognizing neither the Princess nor the Hero.

Zelda said nothing, merely moving forward towards the throne room in the distance as gracefully as ever, the mud on her brown horse-riding boots having vanished when she stepped through a particularly deep puddle in the courtyard. Link continued to follow, knowing that he had entered Zelda's domain: even if no one had realized it yet, she was in control here. This was where she was most familiar, and that would never change. Link wouldn't have been surprised if the corridor stretched infinitely, but before too long they were standing before the public throne room.

To be frank, it was basically the upper throne room-the one that had been totaled-but with three thrones against the statues of the goddesses and the Triforce and a few doors on the sides and back that led to yet more parts of the castle. Link felt increasingly uncomfortable as they got closer and closer to the throne; he knew that they were technically allowed this close to the throne, since she was the one meant to sit in it and he was her guest-but it still made him uncomfortable that it bore such a resemblance to the throne the Bearer of the Triforce of Power had planted himself in.

That and the fact that it reminded him of the upper throne room, where not two days ago Zelda had tried to kill him under Ganondorf's influence. The memory of her outraged, unnaturally golden eyes wasn't something he cared to dwell on.

The Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom reached out to stroke the armrest, lined with a thin skin of gold, embedded with a ruby of Death Mountain and a sapphire of Lake Hylia, and allowed herself a sigh.

"I never did get the chance to sit here...Zant attacked before the coronation, Hero, and thus I never truly administered my country or support my people."

Zelda continued to run her dirty, white gloved fingers along the edge of the furniture as she reminisced.

"I never participated in council meetings or the public forums here...I merely sat in the little Princess's chair, watching, learning, never leading. I can only hope that when I do take up the full mantle of leadership, I act with the same virtue you have displayed."

The Bearer of the Triforce of Courage paused. Was Zelda really comparing herself to him? Was that a good idea, given the responsibility she was about to shoulder?

"...My apologies, my good lord and lady, but the throne may only be touched by members of the Royal Family. There are none present now, but the rule stands."

Link turned to see an aged, white-haired man, older than Auru, standing in the hallway entrance, dressed sharply in the manner of a Royal Butler, wrinkles creased in frustration. Despite his obvious age, his body was still thin and capable, though age had done its best to hamper his ability.

Zelda tilted her head, considering something, and then spoke, the faintest hint of amusement hiding in the recesses of her voice.

"I would hope that I am permitted to touch my own throne, Julius. How have you been?"

Julius only registered surprise for about two seconds before moving forward and speaking with total calm stamped upon his stone features.

"Ah, pardon me, your Majesty. I failed to recognize you from my perspective. I am well, as I hope you are. And this gentleman is...?"

He was clearly a master butler, used to overhearing shocking statements and being trained to not react to them in the slightest. The Hero was impressed at the other mans' restraint.

"...Julius, this is Link of Ordona Province. Link, this is Julius, Royal Butler since the time of my Grandfather."

The servant bowed deeply, showing neither shock nor disdain at his place of birth. Again, Link mused, as to whether or not this man felt these emotions, but masterfully managed to keep them to himself.

"A pleasure, nay, an honor, milord Link."

The Hero waited awkwardly as Julius remained bowing until Zelda, with a tilt of her head and a ghost of a laugh in her lips, indicated Link should acknowledge Julius. The former ranch hand took a deep breath and nodded.

Zelda relayed her wishes with as much monotony as she could muster while Julius rose.

"Link is to be treated as a honored guest of the highest caliber. If he wishes anything within reason, see that he gets it."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

Link had tuned out of the conversation once Julius had risen, and only now snapped back to attention as the Princess addressed him.

"Maids will be here in a moment to lead you to your room and bath-I must attend to my castle, kingdom, and people, but I will see you soon."

Without wasting another moment, Zelda turned and left, almost failing to disguise her exhaustion at all. It was only then that he realized that Julius had left with her, and he had no idea if her 'moment' was the same as his. Link could be waiting here for hours if Zelda's sense of time differed from from his own.

Castle life was already difficult, and he hadn't even started his first day yet. His enthusiasm for the inevitable meeting of politicians that this visit would entail rivaled Malo's sarcasm...if they were inversely measured.

This was going to be _so much fun_.


	2. Memories and Residence

_I haven't done an update to an existing story in months-they've mostly been one-shots and thus entirely new stories each time I put out something new. Well, here's chapter 2.  
_

_I don't own Legend of Zelda or anything related to it._

* * *

Fortunately for Link, Zelda's definition of units of time fit his own, and he was left alone for merely a few minutes before a maid came to fetch him. A woman old enough to be Julius's brother, she was garbed in black and white that Link would eventually come to associate with the Royal Maids. Her bold gray eyes remained fixated on the floor as she bowed.

"I'm here to lead you to your room and draw your bath, Sir Link. If you would follow me."

She rose and turned around, moving back into the entrance hall before turning off into the first doorway on Link's left. Holding it open, she lowered her head with the imagined exhaustion of a person who has done this sort of thing her whole life.

Link felt a nagging sense of unease at her deference, but overcame it as he stepped through, immediately allowing her to overtake and lead him. A grand set of stairs awaited him, carpeted in red and lined with elaborate handrails, it led up a short distance before splitting of into two more sets that doubled back and met again on the second floor.

As he ascended, his eyes caught the large portrait of an wrinkled, white-haired man with an elaborate red collar and a sharp golden crown. Zelda's father, perhaps?

The Ordonian had no time to ponder, lest he lose himself amidst the maze that was Hyrule Castle. Before he knew it, the two of them, Hero and servant, were walking towards a door on the top floor, the opening decorated with the royal Crest, and a second tiny shape of the Triforce and the associated wings on the handle.

The hallway was more square than rectangular, the brightness the result of the gigantic, unstable-looking chandelier on the ceiling. He stopped trying to count the lights on the thing after his eyes started watering from the reflected light, and instead turned his gaze to the floor-another gigantic sewn-in Royal Crest in a sea of blue weaving made up this floor's carpet-mirroring the walls exactly, minus the material and with a slightly lighter shade of blue.

Link brought himself to reality just in time as the maid slowed slightly, moved forward, and opened the door for him without stopping. Her aged face sullenly looked back at his younger features as she motioned towards the room inside.

"Your chambers, My Lord."

It suddenly occurred to Link just what about her might be making him uncomfortable: in the past, he had always earned the respect of others, especially those older than himself. With this nameless maid, she not only exaggerated that respect to the point of obedience, but did so only because she was ordered to. Her apparent interest in acknowledging him was artificial and totally out of place.

Feeling sick with the realization, Link hurriedly made his way inside, pausing as he beheld the room that awaited him. The Bearer of Courage wasn't terribly comfortable in a city setting, but even so, he had to admit that the chambers that awaited him was fantastically suited to his tastes, however limited they might be.

The first thing he noticed was its size-in comparison to his house in Ordon, which was already the second-largest in the village, this was still relatively big, even if it didn't reach the heights of his residence on its own. Though smaller in size, it made up for it in extravagance, with the Crest on the floor holding its usual place in the center of the room while the wool carpet itself was a green that matched his clothing. A purple cushion with a brown wooden skeleton-Link supposed he could call it a chair if he wasn't being picky-leaned against the wall, facing a small circular table of wood near the center of the room that reached his knees. Two glass-paned doors led to a small balcony about the size of his bedroom loft that presumably overlooked the Courtyard.

But it was the bed which drew most of the Hero's attention attention. A over-comfortable amalgamation of silk, wood, springs and softness, it rested against the the wall to the right of the entrance-the east wall, if his internal sense of direction was accurate. Three gigantic green, blue, and red pillows sat comfortably atop the extraordinarily fluffy-looking violet blanket, a backbone of polished wood-again, in the shape of the Royal Crest-visible at the head of the bed.

Link had never seen such extravagance in all his life, and time stood still as the full impact of what his time in the Castle might entail washed over him.

"You bath, My Lord."

The voice of the older maid snapped the Hero out of his reverie, and he turned to face her. She stood within the chamber's personal washroom, beyond a door he hadn't even noticed next to the bed, standing stock-straight alongside a bubbling tub of water. The carpet shifted dramatically to polished stone in the restroom, maintaining a perfectly square shape that took up as little space as possible. The barest minimum of geometry was allocated to a rather large tub, a well-maintained pot, and, surprisingly, a contraction that looked like a set of gears attached to a faucet, with a small dip below the water's exit point.

Unused to such excesses, Link stepped inside, glancing awkwardly at the woman as she made no move to leave. She stood there expectantly, waiting for either a dismissal or...something else. The other option trickled pink onto Link's cheeks as he nodded in her direction before titling his chin towards the exit-a bid for her to leave.

The Hero of Twilight could almost see the confusion enveloping the poor older maid as she bowed, thanked him, and exited.

He supposed she might be confused as to his silence, but he didn't have a mind to care. As much as he thought the best of most people when it was reasonable to do so, he found that as much could be said with the words that went unspoken as those that fled from between people's lips. And so he chose to remain silent except under dire circumstances or when it _really_ suited him, which was rarely.

Link took a deep breathe and closed his eyes, feeling the scent of steaming water seep past his nostrils. His comprehension of his current state of being faded once again as the past overtook him and he recalled the last time he needed to disrobe-or rather, the person that had prompted him to do so-and his eyes shot open as the Hero's last memory of that woman overtook him.

* * *

_For one of the first times in his life, Link felt a stinging tear trickle down from his eye, trailing a clear liquid in its wake. Its salty tang ran across the corner of his lips before dripping past his chin and onto the ground. His mouth was still agape as his eyes stared into space, the bold azure of his pupils dead and hollow-looking, ignoring the liquid that dripped from them at a steady pace. His hands weren't even clenched, just...tense and open._

_Emotions ran through the Hero of Twilight like rats from his sword._

_Confusion._

_Resignation._

_Anger._

_But one stood out above them all, not even qualifying as an emotion: more like a state of being._

_Heartbroken._

_In that moment that never seemed to end, Link knew he would never more miserable. No matter the circumstances or the physical pain, nothing would equal the sound of his heart cracking in two._

_Silence reigned between Farore and Nayru's children. Link stared at the spot Midna disappeared, as if looking would bring her back. Zelda looked to ensure she never forgot her friend._

_It was Zelda who got them moving._

_"...We cannot teleport ourselves with magic, or at least not a long enough distance...would you show me the way out of the Gerudo Desert, Hero?"_

_The Bearer of Courage started, blinking at the Bearer of Wisdom a few times before realizing the gravity of what was going on._

_Of course. Desert. The Princess. Needed to get home, or Zelda to the Castle._

_To be honest, his thoughts seemed distant and scattered, like stars in the night sky. Nodding dumbly, Link took a step forward, towards the exiting step, and shuddered at how heavy his limbs felt. Reaching the bottom of what was formerly the Pedestal of the Mirror of Twilight, Link turned and extended a hand to lead the Princess down, an offer she accepted with calmness that defied the circumstances they had just escaped._

_With his shattered, heavy heart, Link turned his back on his past and guided Zelda into the desert...towards her home._

* * *

Link's eyes began swimming, but he held back the tears, desperate to find some kind of outlet for his emotions outside of sobbing. His fortitude won out, though the effort of holding back his sobs brought a cough to his chest. It burned, his injury still not fully healed, and he brought a hand up to clutch his chest-and felt something hard and pointed in his hand.

His eyes widened, and Link's hand dove into his shirt to feel the outline of a familiar object between his fingers.

The shadow crystal.


	3. Establishing Dynamics

_I'm trying out a few new things for this fic-such as the idea of responding to all of my reviews-and want to clear one thing up: Link will have no spoken dialogue in this story, only implied lines. It's a nice chance for me to experiment with writing dialogue around a character who has none. __Thanks for reading!  
_

* * *

Link was gripping the tip of the stone so tightly that it had pricked his thumb, but he ignored the faint bloom of precious red liquid as he turned the shadow crystal over in his half-open hand, the bath sitting idly by, he beheld the powerful artifact in front of him, crafted via magical means now lost to his world.

Was this Midna's parting gift? A way to escape to a simpler life, however temporarily?

And why wasn't touching it provoking his transformation?

Removing the chunk of dark magic from its container in his clothing, he looked it over, holding it between his thumb and index finger of his better arm, scrutinizing the myriad of orange symbols etched into its surface.

It was the same construction as before, composed of a diamond shape with several jagged edges. But this time, its mere presence prompted no sudden shifting of bone, no upsurge of feral instinct...it was merely a frightening-looking gem in his grasp.

The scent of water steaming caught his Hylian nose again, and he shook his head and placed the gem underneath his discarded shirt. He would deal with it later.

Gingerly lowering himself into the comparatively boiling water, Link hissed as the liquid heat immediately brightened his skin to a pinkish color from its usual lightness. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself a brief moment of complete submersion, holding his breathe as he allowed his hair to float freely above his head. Raising his shoulders from the water, he instantly felt the bite of cold air and shivered uncomfortably. Bathing with an open door and window might've been a bad idea.

* * *

It was probably a bad idea to toss this priceless, dangerously powerful object up and down like a fidgety child with a ball, but Link was too absorbed in what he was trying to do to truly understand the ramifications of dropping it.

Skin still pink from rubbing himself dry with the provided emerald towel and still wearing his blood-soaked clothes, he had succeeded in finding a secluded spot in the Castle Courtyard. Behind some rose bushes, slightly off the stone path that roughly patrolled the length of the gardens, lay a dark spot of plain dirt, hidden beneath an overhanging cherry tree.

Now came the difficult part-actually activating the shadow crystal's power. Link had run out of ideas as to what exactly the trick might be-a certain someone wasn't here to provide him with answers, and physical contact wasn't sufficient.

The Bearer of the Triforce of Courage groaned, frustration boiling over as he tightened his grip on the stone. In truth, he desired nothing more than to revisit his lupine form once again, even if only for a moment. Taking a deep breath through his nose, Link allowed himself the luxury of imagining life as a wolf-the heightened awareness his comparatively sharper senses allowed him, the wild joy of bolting through fields, and the feral streak that gave him the freedom to rip out the throats of his enemies.

It was only as he made the motion of snapping his teeth that Link noticed he was doing so with a muzzle and fangs instead of lips and blunt teeth.

Yelping, he tried to jump back only to realize that, being four-pawed, he no longer had the space to truly 'jump' backwards; his attempts to do so resulted in an awkward slide that had him barely staying upright as he scrabbled against the mossy stone.

Disoriented, his blinked his slightly weaker eyes wildly, twitched his incredibly nose furiously, waggled his ears rapidly- all to no avail. Without being able to brace himself for the transformation, he was stumbling blindly, simultaneously overloaded with information and unable to process what his sense were relaying to him. Out of the haze, a familiar, eternally soothing voice sliced through the fog and cleared his mind.

"That was incredibly dangerous, Hero."

Sure enough, the figure approaching out of the shadows was none other than Zelda herself, clad in her inconspicuous gray robe that appeared more blue than gray to his wolfish vision. Cutting his budding growl off instantly, he scrambled into a sitting position and bowed his head. In turn, Nayru's Champion lowered her own head towards his.

It was an odd picture-The statuesque Princess Zelda bowing down to a dog, but in this particular instance it made perfect sense. Of course, without context...it didn't bear much thinking about.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you've forgotten that the Triforce of Wisdom grants me the ability to detect and discern magic. I was waiting for you to use it, Hero...or try to, for I did not understand how you still had it. I truly didn't think you would succeed...but given your history and my debt to you, I should not be so shocked with the final result."

The soon-to-be sovereign of Hyrule's brilliant blue eyes met his animal gaze with equal intensity, and she divined the question that had been nagging him since he first touched the crystal today without any display of effort-just what had provoked his change in form?

"Hero, you possess remarkable skill. However, your powers do not extend to complex magic-do not worry, very few are able to master these arts, myself included among those who can. It is no source of shame."

The Princess reassured him with a raised hand, and Link nodded, sensing where this was headed. If he wasn't a magician or tied to magic, and this was Twilight magic, then...

"As you are not a Twili, you do not have an internal connection to this power, and cannot activate it through contact alone with such a small amount of its physical form."

...Stole the words right from Link's mouth. If he had vocal cords. And a predisposition towards speech.

"When Zant first cursed you after you recovered all the Fused Shadows, he quite literally forced the shadow crystal inside of your body. Once the Master Sword broke the curse, Midna saved the shard and used her own powers as a Twili to access its power, allowing it to be activated on command or through contact."

Zelda postulated in tone that began to sound...eager, of all things, if her rising voice was any indication. She seemed to be building to yet another conclusion, starting to talk more out of the wish to vocalize her own curiosity, with his education an intended side effort of her exposition. However, Link's fascination with her uncharacteristic emotion of delivery distracted him to such an extent that he failed to maintain his focus with her specific words until until she spoke again, thus robbing him of the chance to predict her reasoning.

"However, the question of how it came to be usable now still remains. My only hypothesis is that your commitment, perhaps desire, to become a wolf triggered something Mid-"

The Princess took a deep breath, and the Hero of Twilight's wolfish eyes softened. So, Zelda's reaction was not unlike his own, for different reasons, obviously; however, outside of this instance, she was remarkably skilled at containing her grief, like any good ruler. Closing her eyes and allowing her shoulders to rise and fall once, brown locks of hair swinging slightly with the movement, eternally elegant and beautiful, even in contained grief, she continued.

"...Our friend left behind for you, and thus, your current state of wolfhood was achieved."

Despite how amusing the second half of her sentence might sound, the Princess's voice radiated none of it, and his animal-based impulsiveness sprang forth. Unbidden, he whined, expressing the small amount of grief his instincts forced out of him. Immediately, Zelda placed her gloved hand on his muzzle to quiet his canine sound and avoid drawing attention to them, and his normal instinct to snap at the offending hand was suppressed by the calm and dignity her touch radiated-or perhaps it was her magic. His ears folded back, his eyes glazed over slightly, and he did quite possibly the most undignified thing in the world at the moment-he wagged his tail.

Immediately after he did so, Link's conscious snapped him back to reality, and he recoiled, lowering his head in apology for his inappropriateness. Her next action shocked him even more than her continued presence did.

The Princess of Hyrule smiled-yes, actually smiled-and waved a hand upwards.

"Rise, Hero, and take your true form. You need not grovel before me."

Gratefully, Link shifted with a mental image of possessing opposable thumbs, bones popping back into place as fur faded and his teeth shrank-he had long ago gotten used to the sensation of transforming-and stood to his full height. His eyes reached Zelda's nose, surprisingly enough-he had never really had the chance to compare their height, so discovering that she was taller than him was...surprising, to say the least. His eyes caught the movement of her pink, unadorned lips, partially hidden by her hood, as she spoke once again.

"Hero...you seem to lack direction. If you would hear me out, I have a proposition for you. What say you to the idea of becoming my bodyguard? You would not yet take that position in any official capacity, but until then, you might be able to guard me in your other form, as a sacred beast."

His breath caught in his throat, and Link paused. It wasn't that he wasn't flattered, but this felt very...random? Sudden? He wasn't sure how to express it.

On one hand, he would enjoy the time with Zelda, the occupation, and the time in Castle Town. As much as he disliked the confined space, and loved his hometown...he could never really go back and treat it the same way, at least not with the knowledge and experience he now had, though he would have to reflect further on just what his future with regards to Ordon might entail. And since he wasn't quite ready to become a wanderer, he supposed protecting another third of the Triforce was the best thing he could do. Even if Zelda's most dangerous enemy had been completely eliminated and she was very capable of defending herself, why take the chance? And why not spend more time as a wolf, if that was not the intention of..._her_ leaving him the crystal in the first place?

In truth, what were the drawbacks? He wasn't in possession of the Triforce of Wisdom, but even he could see the lack of negative side effects that accompanied his Princess' offer.

And so he nodded, ignored Zelda's earlier request, and bowed. After a moment, he rose unbidden...and smiles ghosted across both of their lips.

Maybe castle life wouldn't be so bad after all.


	4. Transitions

So far, so good.

As they had planned, Zelda formally bid Link farewell the next morning, riding with him on her own cream-white stallion (adorned, as always, with the Royal Crest) and a contingent of rather nervous-looking knights, on the pretense that she was accompanying him part of the way home, while in reality, he would simply double back, shift, send Epona on her way, and catch up to the returning party. Still, her polite waves of farewell seemed so genuine, such was Zelda's skill at cultivating her emotions, that the Hero might've felt as if he was truly on his way to Ordon if he didn't know that that wasn't the case.

At the moment, he was in the process of excecuting the first step. Turning around to ensure no one was following him, Link immediately veered off Hyrule Field's path to Ordon village, steering Epona, who whinnied in protest, into the summer-green trees that lined the dirt road, riding until the moderately open-air wood and foliage blocked out any view of him from the path, and vice versa.

His timing was perfect-just as he pulled back on the reins and indicated for Epona to stop, his horse burst into a grassy clearing, the lack of overhanging leaves allowing the butter-yellow noon sun to beat down upon his brow. Besides a rock the size of his torso, so overgrown with moss and vines that it appeared to be more of a mass of green than a piece of stone, Link and Epona were the only objects of note in the area. Indistinct trees ringed the clearing, providing an obstacle that would normally confound anyone who wasn't an accomplished adventurer like himself..

For Zelda's idea to work, he had to make sure that Epona, and Epona only, witnessed what happened next. Sliding off of his horse before she had a chance to fully stop, Link gripped the shadow crystal in his hand and visualized bounding freely through the woods on four paws. Before he even finished outlining the thought, his senses flared, his thoughts wavered between feral and civilized, and he found himself falling forward onto the same four paws that had entered his mind mere moments ago.

Epona's confused neighing reached his ears, the normally unintelligible sound forming understandable sentences to his wolfish ears.

"_Why, Link? I thought we were on our way home!"_

It took merely a single tilt of his head towards the way they came for his unusually intelligent horse to understand. Snorting in frustration, the stubborn mare conceded and turned back towards the road, tail whipping back and forth in half-pretend indignation.

"_Oh, all right. But don't forget that your little hometown of Ordon still exists, and that you have another form! And if you do _anything_ to hurt her..."_

The rest of her sentence fell on deaf ears. If she had turned around, Epona would notice that Link was already gone, soaring through the trees.

But she didn't, and so the horse continued prattling on, whining and griping to no one in particular and leaving many a woodland squirrel wondering if they had just overheard an insane horse conversing with herself about the sensation of a Princess' legs on her back.

* * *

Their plan was flawless.

As Zelda and her entourage were making their way back to the castle after dropping him off, they would just so happen to run into an angry-looking wolf that would just so happen to attack their Princess before they could stop it, but said princess would be very capable of taking care of herself and, before too long, the wolf would be asleep at her feet.

Getting knocked out by his Princess would be a small price to pay for giving the two of them the introduction they needed to embed him into castle life.

And so he waited, lying half-asleep on the ground just behind the bushes lining the path.

Zelda was the one who came up with the plan-after all, _she_ was the one with the Triforce of Wisdom-so he expected her to be punctual, as always-

Ah, yes, the fast-approaching whiff of horse-sharp and grainy, with the distinctive clip-clop of hooves reaching his ears seconds after their scent hit his highly sensitive nostrils.

"Easy there, girlie! Let's not leave the Princess in the dust!"

Right on time.

Just as the leading soldier, a slightly portly but surprisingly stern-sounding fellow who seemed to be putting a great deal of strain on his poor horse's back trod into view, Link caught a whiff of Zelda, and blinked. He had never actually had a need to try and identify Nayru's child by scent before, nor was he actually familiar with it. He drew deeply of her wind-carried smell, and found that it most closely resembled some combination of lavender and stately perfume.

It was also at that moment that it suddenly occurred to Link that extensively 'smelling' Zelda might be considered incredibly invasive. After all, he would be aware of things that he normally wouldn't just because her body reacted unconsciously to her thoughts and emotions. He'd have to ask her about that-it would be difficult to suppress that range of sensory detections specifically for his sovereign and not for anyone else, but he could if she needed him to. The Hero-turned-lupine shook his head, clearing his thoughts as the front of Zelda's entourage passed in front of him-two guards and their uniformly brown horses.

And then, at last...she was normally extremely conspicuous and this was no exception, though the lack of any other women in the group helped him make out her form. His half-completed apology vanished as his body rejoiced in the anticipation of pouncing, and before he could control himself, his back legs shoved him forward, his teeth gnashed as a string of drool trailed from the corner of his mouth, and he let out a bark that so startled Zelda's guards that one slid off his horse, falling gracelessly into the dust. The rest, though, stood by, helpless to act as a wolf sailed through the air from seemingly nowhere, teeth aiming straight for what appeared to be the throat of their eventual queen.

Part of him was convincing himself that it was all an act, a ploy to help convince the guards that he was dangerous (and thus, that Zelda was powerful for incapacitating him), but he knew, even if the heat of violence prevented him from currently realizing it, that he was truly jumping at his Princess with fatal intent simply because the rush of animal satisfaction that accompanied his pounce felt so _right_. The rush of air, the knowledge that his powerful jaws would be snapping and crushing the windpipe of another...

His train of thought suddenly slammed into a wall, as did his physical body in a metaphorical sense. Following her prepared script, Zelda raised her hand and opened her palm, any shock or concern that she might have felt at the sight of a gigantic wolf hurtling towards her hidden from her features as a faint blue shimmering barrier became apparent in front of Link's vision.

Panic suddenly engulfed him, and he kicked his legs helplessly, suspended in the air, held by Zelda's magic. It couldn't have been more than a few half-seconds, but it felt like a eternity-he absolutely abhorred any sensation of helpless, and this dislike multiplied exponentially as a wolf, a creature and state of being that demanded open space and agency over his own existence.

As quickly as these thoughts entered the Blue-Eyed-Beasts' skull, they vanished as one of the purest sensations of relief washed over his mind and body. His straining body relaxed, the gears of his mind slowly ground to a halt, and the overwhelming urge to curl up and sleep overcame him. Faintly, through his fading vision, Link could make out Zelda's hand beginning to glow a faint blue, and allowed himself a smile as close as a wolf can get to such an action.

* * *

Kerry Elligson scrabbled upright, ignoring the dirt swirling about him from his fall as the hollow-cheeked teen rushed to witness if his charge had been hurt. In comparison with many other survivors, Elligson was surprisingly loyal, though only to the Princess, but that counted for little when he normally had the enthusiasm of a sarcastic gravedigger and the body strength of two sixteen-year-old girls. Getting drafted when he was on his way to becoming a sculptor had that kind of effect.

In fact, a noticeable majority of the survivors, in addition to being cowards, were largely alive because of their unsuitable body types-instead of actually being on the field futilely attempting to stop Zant's forces, they were either abandoning their comrades or hadn't actually been given combat positions. Now, however, they were all the kingdom had left.

None of this concerned Kerry. Wrinkling his faded blonde eyebrows, he was slightly more interested in watching his leader suspending a wolf, mid-attack, in the air with merely her mind and her magic. Most significantly, the heiress to the throne showed not a smidgen of effort on her features, queenly even in this life-threatening situation that required much of her energy.

The freshman soldier couldn't help but feel emasculated-his group's escortee was better at defending herself than all of them combined.

* * *

Zelda allowed the Triforce of Wisdom on her right hand to fade, hidden from her frankly incompetent guards by her white elbow gloves as she brought Link's wolfish form to the ground.

Her lungs cried out as she maintained an even breathing rate, aching for the princess to breathe heavily and revitalize them with fresh oxygen. Internally aching, Zelda wrapped a metaphorical gag around her protesting body systems as she rose, braids swaying with the shifting of her head.

A cool blue gaze swept across her patrol, trailing attentiveness and a tinge of fear in its wake as her guards stood stock still. The analysis her vision relayed to her was extraordinarily unsatisfactory-she had only just realized the extent that the invasion had crippled her military-the survivors either were or felt incompetent, and that would prove a formidable barrier to repairing Hyrule's security.

"Your m-majesty...are you all right?"

Unfortunate for them, and especially the wiry teen that had been brave enough to ask her, that reassurance would not come until much later.

"I am, though it is in no way a result of your input, or anyone else's actions but my own."

Zelda indulged herself with an injection of venom into her words, watching the bowing individual begin to quiver as if her mere presence would evaporate him, which was quite possibly a very valid concern. But still: their chastisement must precede their reconciliation, and if Link was going to show them up constantly like she knew he would, the Bearer of Wisdom would have to temper them to self-disappointment.

On the topic of Link, she looked down to find the massive wolf-easily as long as she was tall, and she was taller than Link in his bipedal form-lying on his side, flank rising and falling with a calmness that suggested unconsciousness.

Discomfort forgotten, Zelda gestured over to the wolf with a tilt of her head.

"Place him on my horse, and treat him gently."

Suitably cowed, the blond teen scrambled forward, frantically attempting to lift the lupine and failing to do so for several moments until one of his fellows took pity on him and rushed forward, with permission from Zelda in the form of a pointed look, and together they slung Link's body across the haunches of Zelda's stallion.

"Just what is Her Majesty planning on doing with that thing...?"

The sensitive ears of Nayru's daughter picked up the murmur that passed between the two farthest guards, and she nearly allowed herself a smile as they jumped at her response.

" 'Your Majesty' may have just found her new guard dog."

* * *

To their credit, none of Zelda's guards complained any further-she had certainly cowed them to the extent that they would watch what they said, and took the idea of bringing a gigantic wolf back to the castle on the back of their castle well.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said of some of the officials that awaited her as she strode through the castle gates, the noonday sun shining down on them all from on high, and into the courtyard, two guards holding Link between them. The mob of nobles waiting to greet her was only barely held back by her other guards until everyone fell into a deadly hush at the sound of one shrill voice.

"Your Majesty! Pardon me, for I was very concerned for your well-being, but is that a _dead wolf_ I see? I thought you were above such barbaric practices as hunting!"

A tone that haughty could only belong to one of the more mean-spirited nobles residing in the Castle at the moment: Lady Abigail, formerly of House Woodrow. In the time of Zelda's father, Abigail's own family could stand her scheming and delinquency no longer and so endeavored to have her shipped off to Castle Town to marry one of Zelda's current advisers. To her credit, she quickly integrated herself in the court and became adept at the art of law and politics, adapting perfectly to her role as a noblewoman of court.

Unfortunately, she had become so educated in the art of government that she soon realized that if one of her sons became engaged to the Princess, Abigail's position would be elevated to an unprecedented degree, and so made every move to push the Princess towards her single offspring.

Of course, her secondary motivation was stealing the throne from Zelda's family simply because, the Princess hypothesized, she enjoyed making others miserable.

Abigail might easily be considered pretty, though nothing more, with her flowing golden locks, small nose and high cheekbones if her face wasn't permanently creased in a condescending scowl. Though she was but forty, she liked to consider herself a grizzled old veteran of courtly mannerisms and already had an eighteen-year-old son by her husband, Jared Hullan, Secretary of the Treasury.

It pained Zelda to see such a well-meaning and competent member of her cabinet saddled with such poison, but there was nothing she could do at this point but resist the former Woodrow as best as she could. A harder task than it might seem, for Abigail's boundless ambition and her unwitting husband's resources had skyrocketed her to unofficial status as a leader in the court.

In addition, Abigail's son was truly a nice boy-Gerard Hullan-but he was unsuitable to be King, as he lacked interest in politics and Zelda herself had no reason to bind herself to him-marrying into her own cabinet was foolish. These hard facts did not deter Abigail from her indiscreet crusade in the least.

To accomplish anything, the Princess would have to swim against the tide that was her foe's power, and this was as good a place as any. In the absence of her sovereign, the woman had forgotten to adhere to the protocol that she so rigidly stuck to, and in her namesake wisdom, Zelda knew this was too good an opportunity to pass up. The Bearer of Wisdom could not remove Abigail from her court, for she did not actually hold any formal powers or positions. Nor could she remove her husband from the court (and subsequently her enemy), for that would carry too much suspicion and draw more misguided criticism than Nayru's daughter could deal with right now.

"You forgot yourself, _Mrs. Hullan_. I need not justify myself to you, unless it eludes you as to who exactly is the Princess is here, in which case I..."

Pausing, the Princess stepped forward, leaning down towards Abigail, her icy gaze visibly chilling the permanently indignant woman as the latter opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, like a suffocating fish, before thinking better of it. Shrinking down, Abigail allowed her blonde locks to fall in front of her face and disguise her shame, though Zelda knew from secondhand the experience the wrath that was boiling beneath the other woman's skin.

"...Am all too pleased to remind you."

The gauntlet had been thrown down, but the Princess was finished for now. Satisfied with her verbal whipping, Zelda wiped all traces of venom from her features and continued past Abigail's kneeling body as if the latter did not exist, serenity masking her true frustration with practiced grace.

She had no desire to be a tyrant, but it was unwise to allow such disrespect in her presence.

And Zelda _never_ did anything unwise.

* * *

"Your Majesty, I can safely say this was not what I expected to see when I heard you were returning from your...ride."

If it was anyone else, save Link, Zelda would have calmly told off such impudence, but Julius rested in a category all his own. Her butler was permitted immunity from punishments stemming from impudence as a direct result of his time spent with the Royal Family-before neither Zelda nor her Father could speak legibly, Julius was already caring for them both. As such, she only glanced pointedly in his direction, a sign that this was not a time to joke, as he stood in the doorway of her chambers. Behind her, strung between two men, Link was still out cold, but would wake any moment now and she needed the two of them to be alone by then.

"Julius..."

Zelda started to speak, but a reassuring smile from her old caretaker silenced her.

"I understand, your Majesty. Guards! Place the wolf on the carpet, near the table."

When Julius ordered people about, he neither raised his voice nor physically intimidated them-he merely spoke in a disarmingly friendly tone that usually convinced the person that his orders were a request, not a mandate, and a request they wanted to heed. Her escorts hurried to comply, gratefully lowering their burden onto the soft purple floor, in the dead center of the room-and, consequently, in the center of the Triforce on the Royal Crest on the floor.

The Queen's Chambers really were a thing of majesty, even if Zelda was not yet a queen. The unassuming, plain wooden door belied the plush interior, with every millimeter of space covered by a cloth or cushion of some sort. Purple and blue tapestries lined the walls, alternating between each color with every cloth weave, the former reflecting the carpet's violet tones and single, repeated pattern of yellow. As with the guest rooms, the bed rested against the walls, though the Queen's bed was, in reality, king-sized-an irony that was never lost on Zelda and served as a constant reminder of Hyrule's expectations for her future.

Regardless of the accuracy of the name, the bed was large, with a canopy of thin, multicolored silk and a wooden skeleton lining the overcomfortable pillows and sheets. The restroom, while more discreetly hidden to the right of the bed, with the sleeping space hiding it from immediate view, it was still ornate, with a handle shaped like-what else?-the Royal Crest leading to a sparkling, constantly, unnaturally pristine cleaning room lined. Surprisingly functional, it accomplished its goals with little frivolity in comparison to the washrooms of other nobles.

However, for her own safety, the room lacked any kind of portal outside besides a small circular window, but in Zelda's mind, it was hardly a problem. If she needed air, there were dozens of passages and hallways that quickly led her outside, and she had memorized them all.

Without another word, Zelda dropped to her knees, running her hands through Link's fur, trying to both rouse him with the contact and distract herself as she tried to divine the counterspell for her particular incantation. A click from behind her indicated that Julius had escorted and followed the guards out.

Precisely at that moment, Link came awake. Blue eyes snapping open, he instinctively growled, scrabbling upright and folding his ears back in warning as his muscles tensed and his fur stood on end.

Zelda watched and waited. Even with how many times they had gone over the plan, the two of them had never rehearsed it. Link would be slower to remember where he was than Zelda would be in his state, but that was one of ever-decreasing number of things she could only guess at, not infer or confirm with certainty.

Wild, lupine eyes met her ever-calm gaze, and her new protector visibly relaxed, lowered his shoulders and readjusting himself into a sitting posture.

His formality was unneeded, but welcome. Still, it wasn't necessary, and it felt odd for her to be addressing a canine in this manner, so the Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom beckoned Link upwards. As he rose, head lowered slightly in respect, the words of his new charge reached his now-receptive ears.

"Welcome to my Castle, Link."

Everything had fallen perfectly into place.

The Hero of Twilight had finally arrived at his second home.


	5. A Not-So-Royal Court

Julius blinked, the only indication of his confusion, for his aged features and grayed eyebrows betrayed no emotion other than devotion. Zelda, meanwhile, continued to sit with her legs crossed at her tea table in her chambers, awaiting a response. Freshly washed and clothed in another copy of the clothing she wore during their battle with Ganondorf, she waited patiently, one hand resting on her cheek, index finger pointing towards her ear. Link, fully healed thanks to his Princess' magic, rested by her side, sitting upright, showing neither aggression nor happiness. In a way, he reflected Zelda and Julius in this form, with his limited ability to suppress or disguise his reactions.

Zelda knew that the Hero would not like that it came so easily to him.

"...I mean, I suppose it could work, Your Majesty, but I must ask...is it really necessary?"

"Very. He's already proven more competent at defending me than my own guards, and as you can see, he obeys me fully."

Julius shook his head, more out of trying to comprehend the information rather than deny her. Link, meanwhile, watched and waited, struggling to not lie down and rest or tear out and run simply for the joy of it. He needed to demonstrate his trustworthiness and not give the perceptive man a reason to question Zelda.

"I...very well. I know you are more than capable of defending yourself should he turn on you...though how do you know that he is male?"

For all her dignity and class, Zelda just couldn't resist this opportunity.

"I know a penis when I see one, Julius, and unless your children were conceived asexually, you and your wife do too."

The sovereign-to-be's voice trailed off into an uncharacteristically teasing tone, ending in a rare chuckle. The constant stress of maintaining calm when she felt none or the chore of treating everything in a courtly manner faded in that brief moment, and Julius smiled and allowed himself a small laugh as well.

"I suppose you're right, Your Majesty. Now, are you prepared? Your first morning cabinet meeting since the...incident will be an important one, and it would leave a poor impression if you were late. In addition, there's your speech regarding the disaster that interrupted your entertainment of suitors."

The smile on the face of the Princess of Hyrule vanished as if it had never been there, and she nodded her curved chin, standing up. Her wolf followed her movement, rising and stifling the instinctive tail-wag as he tried and failed to appear noble. He'd need to practice that a bit more.

Satisfied, Julius rose as well, stood to the side, and held open the door for his Princess.

"Shall we, Your Majesty?"

* * *

If he wasn't in the skin of a wolf at the moment, Link would've guffawed, or at least chuckled sarcastically. He could've sworn he'd torn through his room at some point during his invasion of Hyrule Castle.

As it happened, the emergency repair crew had done a good job quickly restoring Zelda's state room. Though inherently simple-really, just a few rows of tables and chairs courtroom-style, with Zelda's seat placed before the lot-it, at the very least, did nothing to show that merely days ago he had been (very nearly failing) to kill a black knight under Ganondorf's command in this very room, ripping and shattering furniture in the process. Blood from both sides had been scattered across the marble, half-carpeted floors and dotted the stained glass depictions of the Golden Goddesses. The fragile overheard chandelier had fallen and shattered when he had made the admittedly poor decision to try and buy some time by Clawshotting onto it.

Gravity ensued.

Now, though, it looked the same as when he first entered the chamber-flawless, if slightly boring, and now thick with the smell of old men.

The sound of the court crier kicked him out of his reminiscence as the large wooden doors slammed shut behind them, though he managed to disguise any outward reaction.

"Her royal highness, Her Majesty Princess Zelda!"

* * *

The Princess had already steeled herself for this, though only now she fell into formation-right palm resting on the inside curve of her left forearm, fingertips grazing her right elbow-as she charged headfirst into the political battlefield that would consume her for as far as she could predict. In this situation, first impressions would mean everything to people as superficial as the court lawyers, officials, and nobles that occupied the seats before her.

And by the poorly disguised looks of disappointment, she had succeeded at defying their expectations for "the return of a defeated monarch".

She was not broken, beaten, and bruised, crawling back and looking for their forgiveness. Instead, she held her head high, secure, confident, and prepared for their verbal sings and arrows. Zelda knew for a fact that they would much have preferred the former.

One point for her, and most certainly not her last.

It was also then that the first court lady screamed in terror, bolted upright, and pointed in Zelda's direction. Normally, the Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom would be slightly confused, but she knew very well what the woman was reacting to.

* * *

At first, they were of the opinion that she had done a fair job.

After all, it would normally be difficult to salvage the ever-important courtly mannerisms and grace if one were soundly beaten, but, in the eyes of the nobles, their Princess had achieved the near-impossible. Her posture was correct, her stance in form, her fashion in style...the only thing that was off was her frigid, commanding glare.

After all, she wasn't exactly in a position to stand up for herself, was she? Their leader had failed them, and so would be adhering to _their_ demands for quite some time. It was something every plotting nobleman had been looking forward to for quite some time.

And then they noticed the monster. The massive, man-sized beast with fangs that poked through its upper and lower lips and stood next to their leader.

What's worse, the lady was not panicking. And so the duty fell upon _them_ to explode into terror at the proximity of this beast.

* * *

Abigail seethed, her mouth emitting none of the cries that her 'compatriots' allowed to escape their lips as she sat in quiet fury, golden locks slightly too bright in the light of the overhanging chandeliers.

So, the little Princess had grown herself some ovaries and was thinking that she could just waltz into the heart of Hyrulean politics with a _wolf_ in tow?

She'd see about _that_.

* * *

Zelda resisted the urge to shut the terrified nobles up with a wave of her hand, instead allowing the Court Crier, a fat, thick-shouldered man of middle age, to reestablish order, an incredibly slow process ordinarily and even slower when a 'barbaric, deadly animal' was in their empty-headed presence. Disguising a wry smile of satisfaction as some of the more uppity women shrieked and scrambled backwards, the Princess waited for her time to speak.

Gradually, the painful shrieking dissolved into a dull roar, then a continuous grumbling, and finally, sweet, sweet silence. Seeing her conditions for order satisfied, Zelda nodded at the Court Crier and stepped forward. Link stepped with her, and the nobles instinctively stepped backwards, some of the more delicate of heart freezing up at his closer proximity. However, none dared show fright again, especially to the woman who had successfully (and on her first time, too) faced down Abigail, their unofficial 'leader' in her...absence.

Satisfied with their half-respect, the Princess walked in complete silence, Link patiently by her side, royal hand posture still in place as if it never had been broken-which it hadn't.

Her lower throne room seat was mirrored here to near-perfection, minus some of the more elaborate jewelry patterns and the gold. Instead, the pockets of silver were indications of wealth rather than an ever-present gold sheen. As she stood before her seat, overlooking her desk, with her notepad, quill, stamp, and inkpot, it became evident that her seat was not elevated in comparison to the others.

The Bearer of Wisdom frowned, considering the critical architectural flaw she'd have to fix. She was aware that height was something that, while she had in abundance, was not exactly best displayed when seated, and she needed to ensure her words could not be ignored on the grounds that she "couldn't be heard from so low down"- a common complaint of her fathers' " that she would ignore at the very immediate moment. Indicating the Crier with a tilt of her head, Zelda awaited his instructions as demanded by Protocol.

"Her Majesty the Honorable Princess Zelda, personal advisors, goverment officials, cabinet members, staff, and present nobles may be seated, in that order!"

Within the next six seconds, the entire room had placed their rears on their seats, except for the Crier and Link, the latter of which was content with resting on his haunches, making a great show of patrolling his head from one end of the room to the other.

Zelda imagined the cringes and gasps that followed in the Hero's wake were satisfying, especially to his wolf's alpha mentality. Returning her attention to the sea of faces before her-too much time on Link would raise suspicions-the Princess nodded in their direction.

"I welcome you all back, and thank you for your loyal service. In the wake of such crisis, it is vitally important that we stand together to ensure stability and peace are maintained. Now then...what is first on the agenda, Court Scheduler?"

The Court Scheduler was, excluding age, the polar opposite of the Crier. He could easily be considered thin by any standard-bony, even-and carried himself with such a quiet manner that he could barely be heard.

No wonder he and the Crier got along so poorly-the Scheduler considered the Crier an overbearing blowhard and the Crier thought of the Scheduler as a spineless tool.

They were both right.

Flipping a page with a rakish finger, the ebony-skinned man cleared his throat and began to speak when a now-familiar voice interrupted him.

"Your Majesty..."

Abigail Hullan, of course. Both Zelda and the Scheduler frowned at the blonde, standing up out of her seat by the front of the room-uncomfortably so, in fact, for a noblewoman who had no actual political position. She'd have to see to that.

The honorific was used with such stress that it could _almost_ be considered mockery, but not quite enough for Zelda to reprimand the woman for.

What followed, however, was most certainly sufficient.

"Would you enlighten us as to what a _savage beast_ is doing in the room, endangering us all?"

At the mention of his person, Link took the initiative and stood on all fours, growling slightly and hunching over-the guards in the corner readied their weapons, but Zelda could read the fear in their quivering knees and unsteady hands, and knew they were just as ready to run as the nobles.

Abigail, for her part, did not falter at the sight of an annoyed lupine, though it was likely only due to her expectation that she had the upper hand.

In some ways she did, but Zelda had many a trump card prepared for such a situation.

The first was Link's immediate calming after but a wave of her hand in his general direction, bringing a collective gasp of wonder from everyone in the room. His growl died as he faced her, folded his ears back disarmingly, and sat. He was getting good at this, she mused.

The second was the Princess' rebuttal.

"Firstly, Lady Hullan, I'm certain your memory of yesterday is not sufficiently poor that you've forgotten that you've already overstepped your boundaries once in the past twenty-four hours, no?"

* * *

Abigail cursed inwardly, fair lips spewing out silent profanity as she curled her excessively accessorized eyelashes.. She _had_ gone too far too soon, hadn't she?

Well, she could back down and allow the Princess her rant for now. Bowing her head in a nod, Abigail moved to sit, only to be surprised by another outburst from the Princess.

"I did not give you permission to be seated, Lady Hullen."

Fire ignited across her cheeks, born of both frustration and humiliation as other nobles nodded at each other or cast disapproving glances in her direction.

What utter hypocrites. They'd parrot her words in a second if it meant moving up the ladder of nobility-at least, all the smart ones would.

* * *

The other woman's sputtering, disguised anger did not escape Zelda's attention-in fact Abigail was much poorer at disguising her emotions than she believed-but such matters were not her chief concern.

"Good. Secondly, through a combination of my magic and affinity for animals, I have limited control over this wolf. Due to the lack of any kind of competence in the guards surrounding us, I've deduced that this animal is a far safer private guard than any man or group of men in Hyrule's armed forces."

Shocked murmurs grew to heated exchanges to a few outright protests as she chastised their 'might army' and 'brave men'.

* * *

Nearly everyone had the same thought.

"What was she thinking?"

If one insulted their troops-their no doubt competent, well-trained troops-they could at least have _tact_, which their Princess hadn't demonstrated at _all_ by appointing a _wolf_ her Royal Guard.

Things were not looking good for their Queen-to-be.

* * *

Again, Zelda waited for the Crier to restore the desired order, and again, she jabbed at Abigail again. Petty it may have been, but the uppity woman was going too far. She had facts to relate, even if they were cherry-picked and oversimplified to extremes.

"Thirdly, I'm surprised your chief concern was not the state of our subjects or the details of the disaster. As I have a great deal of information on the subject, I will share it if the council approves. As I'm _certain_ you all are _very_ interested in the events that affected so many, I will begin-Crier, ensure that all questions are withheld until the end."

With a nod to the Court Recorder, the Princess began her tale.

* * *

Link suppressed a yawn, and was pleasantly surprised to see it appear on his muzzle as a near-smirk. The stench of fear washed over his nostrils, and he closed his eyes to take it in, trying to indemnify its origin.

There-the closest man on his left. Link could hear the noble's heart pumping rapidly within his broad chest, and he licked his lips as he imagined opening the cavity with his teeth and close his jaws around the red hunk of pulmonary muscle-

Blinking rapidly, the wolf nearly started. Where had such a...nevermind, he'd best listen to the Princess, even if he had experienced the story in greater detail and accuracy. He'd lost track of how long she'd been talking, anyway, as he had allowed his senses to explore the room during her monologue, so jumping on halfway through would be interesting.

Some guard dog he was, letting a few sensory experiences distract him from his duty. Tuning the fear of everyone in the room out, he focused on Zelda's melodious yet commanding voice.

"...And so the Sheikah heeded my call."

The nobles, somehow actually listening to her, did not yet bombard Zelda with questions, but a collective, muted gasp arose from them all.

"With their aid, we drove back the invaders and restored the land and castle to the state it is now, though part of this structure was damaged in the process. Now, are there any questions?"

Link would've gone deaf from the resulting roar of interrogations if he wasn't anchoring his hearing on Zelda alone.

"Where are the Sheikah now?!"

"What exactly destroyed the upper levels?"

In the chaos, the Hero missed Zelda's many responses, but it hardly mattered anyway-this was a battle he couldn't help her with. Her diplomatic tongue would take the place of his sword in this political arena, and nothing he could do would change even in his daze, a whispered sentence reached his ears, and he perked up, stood, and glared in the vicinity of the speaker-a nondescript, middle-aged adviser, seated next to his makeup-smothered-wife of half his age. At the sight of his movement, pulse of anxiety that only Link could truly absorb swept over the room, but none heard the man's muttered bitterness over the sound of their own questions.

"Somehow, I don't think half of that was true. I mean-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a growl followed by a meaty bark that dropped into another threatening growl. Link's rumble of aggression rolled in his throat, waiting to be let loose in a death-dealing pounce. Looking in his direction, the man's face went white, and Link

How _dare_ this...leech suggest what he just had! He couldn't even _begin_ to conceive what people like the very Princess he mocked had sacrificed while he ran and waited the disaster out! And he had the nerve to tell his ruler off for misbehavior?!

His pack instincts roared through his veins, _screaming_ to let him leap on the man who had challenged someone under his protection and make him pay. Farore's champion was just about prepared to listen to them when he felt the faintest of prods in his eartip. Before he could react, his mind was suffocated by thoughts of serenity.

Wait, serenity? Link was in the middle of contemplating the sweet, bloody murder of...

No...calm. He needed to remain calm. But why? The wish for relaxation was totally artificial, fabricated-he had no reason to _want_ to be calm, not now.

He simply _was_. But how?

No time to contemplate. The oppressive sensation of bliss was suffocating him, and he felt the immense urge to sit and wait for...what exactly?

Link didn't care. Mind empty as a shopkeeper's pot, the wolf brought himself into a sitting position, barely registering soft digits near his ear.

* * *

Zelda continued to touch her guard's ear with the very tips of her white-gloved fingers, maintaining the calming spell that was currently keeping her terrified critic alive. Only she, Link, the man and his wife had heard his words, but Zelda was mildly surprised that the Hero had reacted so strongly.

Ah. She had forgotten to consider his wolfish instincts. In his eyes, acts such as accusations were direct challenges to her authority as a leader of their 'pack'. She'd have to work him through that mindset.

But for now, her primary concern was salvaging the situation. The man looked just about ready to order Link put down.

"...P...Princess! Control that monster!"

Choosing to overlook his belief that she was under his command, Zelda raised a hand in a placating manner, knowing that she had already challenged her councilors a little too boldly and a little too soon this meeting.

"My apologies, councilor. Rest assured, this will not happen again. You have my royal word."

Why, _why_ couldn't Link control himself?

More importantly, why hadn't she predicted that he wouldn't be able to?

Link's eyelids fluttered as his wolfish instincts fought her control, and the child of Nayru bit the inside of her lip.

She was upset with herself that she had to resort to such...brute force, but on such short notice Zelda had few options outside of what she was currently doing that didn't result in the councilor drowning in his own lifeblood.

On that note, the man seemed satisfied with this chain of events, though he still eyed the animal at her feet warily-even standing up, Link's sitting posture reached past her waist.

The cool breeze by her nostril could only mean one thing-a nosebleed. Her body was beginning to protest her constant magic usage.

"I...believe now is an appropriate time for us to recess for the day. Crier?"

The man in question bolted upright far too quickly for him to have not been dozing off, but, to his credit, he fell into the flow of the meeting and began rattling off the names of those who could rise and depart, in order. Zelda, as always, was the last to leave, ignoring the many inquiring voices that awaited her and instead making a beeline straight for her chambers. She was aware at the suspicion that would arouse, but collapsing from the effort of keeping Link calm would certainly be more alarming than her one-time indifference towards the usual post-meeting discussion.

Fortunately, Julius was absent from her room, so Zelda was able to release her control on Link and gasp, leaning against the wall. Coughing a few times, her icy image shattered in her guard's presence, she glanced in his direction, formulating the necessary words.

* * *

For his part, the Hero of Twilight was absolutely baffled.

Last he remembered, he was...attending a meeting of some kind, and was ready to commit violence, then...

_Hazy, swirling, forced sleepiness..._

...He couldn't quite remember. But now he was in...Zelda's quarters, it seemed. And she was stepping towards him, a scarlet bloom trailing down her nose and _blood he hadn't hunted in_-

Blood. Zelda was bleeding. He had lost his recent memory.

The pieces fell together, and Link bent his head forward, whimpering. He hadn't intended to hurt his charge-the exact opposite, really-but he couldn't...

"I can see by your reaction that you've deduced what happened recently, Hero."

Trying his best to show his regret through his eyes and submissive posture, Link dared to look up, nodding.

To his surprise, Zelda merely laughed halfheartedly, ignoring the thin red mark of _salty, sweet-_

"Do not concern yourself, Hero. I only ask that you control such instincts in the future-I will not be able to do this trick again without questions being asked. Is that understood?"

His Princess's tone held no note of chastisement or disappointment, only inquisitiveness. Slightly surprised, Link nodded again, and his charge allowed herself another small giggle.

"Very well. Now, please-I must clean this from my face in preparation for the dinner of Councilors tonight. I would ask you to prepare yourself, but..."

The wolf huffed, the closest he could get to a laugh, and the Princess smiled the whole way to the washroom at her own joke.

It was nice, Link mused, to be able to see what lay beneath the serene, frozen surface that she displayed to others.

He couldn't help but wonder who else might have that privilege besides himself. Right now, he couldn't think of any possibilities-and so his thoughts fled to predictions regarding the food available to him that evening.

The former ranch hand had never eaten at a Royal meal before, after all...


	6. Feasts and Fangs

"Now, Hero, we cannot have a repeat of what occurred earlier today. Am I clear?"

Zelda looked down towards Link, her head tilted in a slightly reproaching manner as he bowed his head in deference, stomach knotting in shame that, by attempting to protect his "alpha", he had threatened her. Allowing a small laugh between the two of them, his charge pat his head, ruffling his fur with her delicate, yet deceptively powerful fingers.

He really wanted to keep up the half-facade of "terrifying wolf", even in her solitary presence, but when she rubbed her fingers _just like that _on the sweet spot behind his ear his head tilted up and he let out a contented snort.

She seemed to find this hilarious.

"The Hero of Twilight-defeated by an ear scratch. Not exactly something the bards would sing of, don't you think?"

The wolf in question was too busy twitching his leg and huffing happily to note her little joke. Shaking the levity out of her face, Zelda sighed, rising from her chair in her chambers, hand lifting off of his ear as she stood, her usual purple and white backless dress replaced with a brighter, pure white silk gown that reached to her wrist and down past her feet, covering her whole body in a layer of white.

The after-midday sun was shining high as Zelda turned away from pages of documents to face a new monster-the political meal.

"It is only an informal teatime with the ladies of the court-wives of politicians, some female politicians themselves, and the like."

Half-listening, half coming off of his sensory high, Link nodded, staying in a sitting position.

"I suppose you don't _really_ need to hear what I'm saying..."

That did the trick. Starting slightly, he nodded and tilted his head unconsciously, slightly curious as to how exactly she'd known that his attention was elsewhere.

"...Hero, you wag your tail when your mind wanders. It's a rather undignified image, if I say so myself, but oddly relaxing, given the form that possesses it. I advise you to do it as much as possible during our talk, provided the actual lack of focus is minimized."

Link caught a flash of uneasiness in his nostrils before he chastised himself. He had to remember-no sniffing the princess. It took a great deal of his brain power to shut out a very noticeable part of his most valuable sense, but it was necessary to allow Zelda the privacy she gave him.

Without thinking, the wolf stood on his paws, shaking a little from side to side, careful to avoid getting fur on his ruler.

The Princess smiled and ran finger across his muzzle for a second before moving towards the door.

"It is only an informal meeting, Hero. While they will each play their own little political game, none should challenge me to an extent that you lose control. Simply keep in mind what we went over-focusing on your breath and the like-and make sure you are not surprised by anything that is said. Now, are you ready?"

With a nod from her guard, the Princess rapped on the doorway, a signal for Julius and the outdoor guards to escort her to the banquet hall.

* * *

Harrison Walter gulped, sweat beading his dark-skinned brow as he struggled to stay as still as possible. As much as he wanted to say that it was because of the stuffy metal helmet bending his rounded ears down, the conscript knew there was no use lying to himself: he was terrified of the wolf.

It was a great big beast, dark-furred and bulky, probably physically stronger than the two strongest men in the army. While he could always comfort himself with the knowledge that the Princess had it completely under her control (he had seen her calm the monster at the meeting earlier), nothing that he saw right now was any reassurance. Whether it was how it lifted its head to sniff the air in his general direction every so often-he'd heard that wolves could smell fear-or the way it yawned every few minutes, revealing a mouthful of teeth sharper than any weapon in the Castle-everything about that animal screamed "danger".

To be fair, it was decently far away from him-on the other side of the banquet hall, with its stained-glass ceiling and four long wooden tables with a fifth opposite the entrance, meant for the King and Queen-but no distance would ever really make Harrison feel comfortable.

He was just glad his shift was almost over. The way that wolf looked around as if it was scoping out threats and squashing them with a glare the room was truly unnerving.

* * *

Zelda feigned a laugh in response to one of her tablemates' jokes, covering her mouth with a white-gloved hand politely as her braids swayed, the brown length of hair between her shoulder blades pressing up against the cushioned back of the Queen's chair, her other hand resting delicately on the purple tablecloth, a silver fork wedged between her index and middle finger. The raspberry jelly chicken before her was decently chewy and syrupy sweet, she supposed, but the cook's excellence had faltered as a result of needing to cater to so many and get used to cooking such rich dishes once again. The Princess would probably need to have a word with her Secretary of Staff about giving the head cook some time off.

The Queen-to-be sat at the center of the slightly elevated, front most table, the large empty seat next to her jutting out uncomfortably and calling attention to its vacant nature with its large, rigid shape and too-clean-to-have-been-used shine.

Of course, the daughter of Wisdom mused. She hadn't been back for a week, and the nobles were already acting as if nothing had happened-as if the people under their jurisdiction hadn't suffered along with them. Zelda understood that this was a leisurely meal, not intended to be a political battleground, but the general apathy she detected disappointed her.

"So, Princess...where exactly did you find such an...exotic pet?"

Slipping from her daydream with fluid ease, Nayru's chosen shook her head, smiling falsely, unable to recall the fifty-something-year-old-woman's name and title.

"I assure you, my lady, that he is no pet. He is a wolf, and you should treat him as such."

Clearly, the other woman hadn't expected such a...flippant answer. Frowning, the older lady half-nodded.

"...Well then, what is he for?"

"To guard me."

The noblewoman guffawed for a split second before remembering just who she was addressing and cut herself off with a cough. Satisfied that she had atoned, Zelda did not press the issue-plus, over reliance on invocations of her position was the path to tyranny.

"Begging your pardon, milday, but...you're surrounded by numerous disciplined, capable guards. What need do you have of a disobedient dog?"

Unfortunately, the lady seemed to have picked up on Link's breaking of character during the earlier meeting. Zelda needed to avoid any further issues before more than a few weeks had passed to ensure it was forgotten and thus not considered suspicious.

"Frankly, these men could not protect me to if ordered by the Golden Goddesses to do so-"

Her words were cut off by the faintest, rumbling growl from Link's position as his teeth flared slightly. The Princess almost sent a worried glance in his direction before she made out the telltale squeaking of a Keese. Reaching out and seeking the bat's life force-the energy that bound all living things-Zelda found the flying rodent-near the chandelier above the noble's table, bashing itself against the chain each time it snatched up the moths that flocked to the light.

"...Are you sure it..._he's_ safe?"

"Quite so. In fact, he's about to make it safer. Observe."

With a tug, Zelda eased herself into the Keese's mind, experiencing the urge to eat bugs only briefly before complete control was hers. Lacking autonomy, the airborne rat found itself fluttering around the horrified heads of the noblewomen at the table.

Screeching in near-synchronization, the women all leaped to their feet and stood petrified-until the rodent seemed to vanish from thin air near the edge of the table, a good three feet up from the tablecloths.

The one who had questioned Link's presence babbled out a terrified question.

"Where...where did that _monster_ go?"

Holding back a smile, for she had already indulged herself in a quick chuckle when all the ladies had panicked, Zelda gestured over towards Link, who sat, ears down, with the front of his jaws over the head of the Keese and his paws around its tiny body, holding its struggling form down. At a gesture from the Princess, Link's jaws tightened the smallest bit, and a loud _crack_ signaled the shattering of the Keese's skull. Dipping his head down, Link began tearing at the now-limp animal, throat bobbing as several chunks began to venture down his throat.

Stunned, the onlookers-including the guards-backed down into their previous positions, a hushed silence coming over them.

Zelda nodded at the original speaker, hands folded atop her knees in a posture of stately relaxation.

"As you can see-much safer, no?"

Slowly at first, but with rising agreement, everyone began nodding an murmuring assent.

Yes, it was much safer now that the bloodthirsty beast had been taken care of.

* * *

Link hadn't hunt in what felt like ages. Hadn't sensed the tiny protests of weaker creatures beneath his jaws before he snuffed them out in far too long.

And being able to do it now, before his female alpha, his ruler, and in intimidation of her rivals, was _heavenly_.

Their terror was nearly as intoxicating as the blood and leathery flesh that he gorged himself on, quietly, at Zelda's feet, looking for all the world like she had just fed him one of her enemies.

A bone snapped loudly in his mouth, and he started, blinking.

Wait, what? Who was he to take such pleasure from other's misfortune? Link could understand the sadistic glee of consuming meat-he was an alpha predator, after all-but to find such satisfaction from committing so cruel an act? The Hero of Twilight understood the satisfaction of seeing enemies taken down a nonlethal peg, but...well...

The Keese suddenly felt dry in his mouth, and he spat out what he hadn't already swallowed, leaving the half-eaten carcass on the ground. Curling up, he allowed the words to become background noise as he kept a watchful eye on the room, vigilant for threats despite his discomfort.

* * *

"You are troubled by their fear. I sensed it"

The two of them-Hero and Princess-sat in her chambers some time after the meal had ended, the night sky empty of stars outside her one window. Link rested on the floor as Zelda faced him, fingers interlocked before her as she crossed her legs atop one of the room's chairs.

"I understand. But you must, as well, for there is a difference between deriving pleasure from fear and satisfaction from it."

Link blinked in confusion, cocking his head to the side. Pleasure and satisfaction were interchangeable, no?

"I know that you do not have the capacity for true sadism, and that already rules out the former. However, for reassurance, I offer this explanation-does not everyone feel empowered when they know they are held above someone else, no matter in what way it may be? Is not what you felt a version of this exaggerated by your pack instincts?"

...For someone who had conquered traps and the most devious obstacles ever devised, the Hero felt truly stupid. Then again, Wisdom had always been elusive in his hours of need, though a fool's intelligence had always been his constant companion.

Wolf packs had hierarchies that his lupine mind had already associated Zelda with. Other's displays of submission brought pleasure, motivating further confirmations of superiority and ensuring that the strongest were always in charge. Link's mind hadn't differentiated the nobles from pack members. His catharsis was not an indication of sadism, but of instinct.

His mind feeling significantly less burdened, the wolf suddenly felt incredibly weary, as if the seemingly trivial realization had been too much for his exhausted mind, drained from constantly patrolling any room Zelda had been in all day. Closing his eyes and yawning, Link felt a hand on his head, rubbing the base of his skull, and his head began to droop.

"Sleep well, Link."

Before he could respond, his mind had ferried him off to the land of dreams, and the rest of Zelda's night passed by with a wolf flopped on the middle of her floor, exhausted and occasionally kicking in his sleep.


End file.
